A Matter of Principle
by Starlite Princess
Summary: After Freak Nation, Alec catches a glimpse of the hand holding incident and decides to teach Max a lesson in revenge ... Response to She Asked for It challenge.


Authors Note: response to Pai's She Asked for It challenge on NWP. Couldn't resist - the plot just kept calling and I had to answer. Damn fussy and insistent muses just wouldn't leave me alone til I'd promised to respond :)  
  
Thank you Baloo and Kim for the wonderful Beta job you did. You girls kick ass!  
  
  
  
A Matter of Principle  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
  
  
In the end, it all came down to a matter of principle.  
  
It had been a very hard decision to make - he'd deliberated for a whole minute and a half before drawing a conclusion. It was a resolution based on the careful consideration of the facts, the present circumstances, and the insatiable need to make a statement.  
  
He needed to help Max stick to her guns; it was his duty both as a friend and fake paramour.  
  
That was the official mission.  
  
In reality, he just wanted payback. Payback for something that he blamed entirely on the dark haired transgenic anyway.  
  
It had been her, after all, who had initially spun the tangled web of lies that would ultimately push the ex 'not like that anyway' boyfriend away from her, thus preventing his untimely death by any accidental physical contact between the two. Sure, it had proved to be a dismal ploy considering the fact that the aforementioned ex had an unnatural propensity to stick to what should have been a non-stick situation, but that really wasn't the point.  
  
The point was that she could not expect to just dismiss their entire pretend relationship for a few moments of squelchy hand holding with the one person she was trying to push away in the first place. As far as common decency and plain old good manners went, it just wasn't done.  
  
Besides, he himself didn't find groping in latex gloves all that romantic.  
  
Even as he watched, the male counterpart to this disturbing - and somewhat nauseating - display, gazed adoringly at the female, eyes swimming with unshed emotion behind the glasses perched atop his nose. When this ogling became too much to bear, he quickly implemented his brilliant plan.  
  
  
  
  
  
No one was more surprised than Max when she felt warm arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against what she had to admit was a fabulously toned body. Quickly looking down to make sure all arms were accounted for, she came to the relatively obvious realisation that the offending appendages did not belong to either herself or the individual who had been holding her hand only minutes before.  
  
A startled cry escaped her lips as she felt warm lips press against the side of her neck.  
  
In the midst of her frazzled mind, she recognised the familiar scent that could only belong to one person. How she knew his scent was not something she wanted to get into at that particular moment - indeed, as far as she was concerned at that point, the whole thinking situation was highly overrated.  
  
How anyone would possess the faculties needed to respond to the situation when those lips were doing whatever it was they were doing was anyone's guess.  
  
It was some time before she snapped to her senses and realised that something had gone horribly wrong within the last five minutes or so. Momentarily ignoring the mystified look on Logan's face, she whirled around to face her attacker, effectively dislodging the lips that had been delicately lavishing her neck and driving her so pleasantly to distraction.  
  
She was expecting profuse apologies, a triumphant cry of 'April Fools!', something that would indicate heavy levels of LSD in the atmospheres, strange planetary alignments . pretty much anything that would explain why he'd suddenly decided to assault her person with his mouth.  
  
Instead, she found the handsome face plastered with an endearing smile, glimmering hazel eyes and -  
  
"Hello dumpling," Alec grinned, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Ready to go home?"  
  
Dumpling?!  
  
To her immense mortification, her first instinct was to reply in the affirmative; her lips were practically forming the word even as she considered the possible repercussions of such a response. His hands on her waist and the look in his eyes made her want to throw all caution to the wind and give in to whatever ridiculous thing Alec had planned. Then she became aware of the fact that she had no idea as to what exactly was going on.  
  
And so she said as much.  
  
"What the hell are you playing at?" Max demanded in a glaring whisper, somewhere at the back of her mind remembering that Logan still had the distinct impression that the two transgenics were a couple. She spoke loud enough be heard by Alec and only Alec.  
  
Couldn't have Logan getting the wrong idea, now, could she?  
  
Alec's eyes widened innocently. "Whatever do you mean, sugar muffin?"  
  
At that somewhat unique endearment, Max honestly didn't know whether to slap him, laugh hysterically or run screaming in the opposite direction. She took a moment and indulged, staring in astonished silence at the individual in front of her.  
  
She'd always considered Alec more or less mentally stable; a rational minded individual despite the numerous inane personality quirks that kept her constantly on her toes - and, incidentally, kept her quite literally on his toes. Sure, she was well aware that even the most stable person could snap at any given time. Apparently, Alec had reached that pinnacle and, in true Alec fashion, any remaining vestiges of his sanity had readily swan dived into the abyss.  
  
Taking a deep breath, and realising that Logan was staring at the cuddling couple curiously, Max pushed the insanity issue aside and refocused her attention on Alec. "Alec," she said quietly, very slowly as though speaking to a child. "What drugs are you on?"  
  
"I'm crazy for you, Maxie," Alec declared exuberantly, pulling her unresisting body against his in a rough embrace, in the process squashing her face against his chest. He turned to Logan with a wide smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "Isn't she adorable?"  
  
Logan seemed as speechless as Max, if not more so.  
  
Max meanwhile seemed too busy trying to disentangle herself from his rather tight embrace. She pushed experimentally against his chest, slightly irked when he made no move to release her. Half making up her mind to just push him away despite the circumstances, she pinned him with a dangerous look.  
  
"Alec," she began warningly. "Get your hands ."  
  
"I wouldn't say that, Maxie," Alec said quietly. His eyes flickered meaningfully toward Logan who was silently watching the exchange.  
  
The words died on her lips as she thought about the implications of such a confession. She raced through the events of the day, going through every little detail in her mind. For the first time that day she realised exactly how much danger she'd put Logan in. The analysis of the runes - the close contact at Jam Pony - the handholding only minutes before .  
  
"Unless you actually want to tell Logan the truth about us."  
  
"Oh God," she murmured, stricken.  
  
"Didn't think so," Alec finished in that same quiet voice.  
  
Unable to come up with an appropriate response that would adequately convey her annoyance at getting herself effectively stuck in this situation, Max just stared at Alec helplessly.  
  
Judging by the strangled chicken impersonation Max was displaying at the moment, Alec could see that she was torn between wanting to kick his ass and wanting to keep the ruse going. He was well aware that the girl would do anything to keep her paramour safe - even if it meant getting snugly with the one man that drove her to the edge of insanity and beyond.  
  
He resisted the urge to cackle gleefully, instead settling for an infuriatingly innocuous expression.  
  
She suddenly sighed, a resolute and determined expression passing over her face. She'd come to a decision and would be unlikely to back down. If there was one sure quality that Max possessed, it was her damn stubbornness in any given situation. The girl did not like to lose.  
  
He was then thrown off balance as Max grabbed the lapels of his jacket in a death grip and pulled his face down til their noses were pressed close together. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the disbelieving look that Logan shot in their direction. He was trying to appear nonchalant about the events unfolding before him. His acting skills however lacked a certain something - he looked about three seconds short of a heart attack.  
  
Max stared intently into Alec's eyes, her jaw set. "I'm so gonna kick your ass," she threatened in a whisper that only he would hear.  
  
"I can't wait, poochy poo," he responded playfully, batting the tip of her nose with his fingertip. Just cause he knew it would piss her off.  
  
If anything, Max's expression became even more distraught.  
  
Alec grinned at the stormy look on her face. Oh yes, this was going to be fun.  
  
  
  
to be continued . 


End file.
